The Top 10 mistakes I made that I won’t make again! by Lisa Lord
I still find it hard to believe how unaware I was, and how vehemently I resisted the idea that I could have ever done anything perceived as racist or in support of white supremacy. But I had.
Listed below are 10 mistakes I made that I will NOT make again. If you are white and struggling to see how or why these actions actually hurt, let’s talk. And PLEASE, talk to me or another white person. We’ve done enough harm to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), please don’t ask the victim to explain why it hurt.
- Believing that white supremacy was about Neo-Nazi and Klu Klux Klan members, so there was no way it afforded me any privilege or benefit.
- Watching the news and wishing the Black person would have just complied with the police, then there would have been no need to use force.
- Complimenting a Black Woman for being articulate and failing to understand why this was offensive to her.
- Asking a Black Woman why she’s all riled up about racism NOW when I never heard her talk about it before.
- Suggesting a Black Woman would be more approachable if she smiled more or toned down her hair and her appearance so as not to be so flashy.
- Failing to support affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups, because I believed they were divisive and failed to support inclusion. (note: I worked in HR)
- Asking why everything always seems to be about race when we talk about Diversity.
- Suggesting that a Black Woman was imagining it when someone said or did something racist.
- Expressing out loud that color didn’t matter and believing this was a righteous belief aligned with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that his “children would be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin.”
- Defending myself when I felt accused of being a racist when that is NOT what the person said to me.
If you want to know more about how these actions are racist, or what you could do differently, please reach out to me at lisa@lisalordconsulting.com
